Govt simplifies procedure for logging permits<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Forestry, in a bid to end
\ncollusion between government officials and private
\nconcessionaires at the local level, has decided to reduce the
\nnumber of steps necessary for procuring logging permits from 24
\nto 11.<\/p>\n
A ministry official said yesterday that Minister of Forestry
\nDjamaludin Suryohadikusumo deemed the simplification as necessary
\nto guarantee adequate supplies of raw materials to wood-based
\nindustries.<\/p>\n
"The minister said the lengthy procedures have caused
\nconcessionaires to take shortcuts and collude with local
\nadministration officials," the official said.<\/p>\n
As a result of the lengthy procedures, only 65 of the total
\n445 concessionaires which submitted logging proposals as of July
\nhave been able to meet 100 percent of the license's requirements.<\/p>\n
The 65 concessionaires manage concessions for a total of 5.89
\nmillion cubic meters of wood.<\/p>\n
Of 445 concessionaires, 248 -- which manage a total of 9.83
\nmillion cubic meters of timber -- have been able to meet only 60
\npercent of the license's requirements. The other 70 have not been
\nable to meet the regulations at all.<\/p>\n
"On one hand, wood-based industrial firms are complaining of a
\nshortage of raw materials, but on the other, the majority of
\nconcessionaires have only been able to meet 60 percent of the
\nlicense's requirements," Djamaludin said. "I am afraid that if
\nthe requirements are not changed, concessionaires may never be
\nable to meet 100 percent of the requirements."<\/p>\n
He said that similar to the previous regulation, the new one
\nwould still require concessionaires to establish village-
\nsupervised concessionaires, grow industrial timber estates for
\ntransmigrants and plant indigenous tree species.<\/p>\n
"If they don't abide by these rules, their annual logging
\npermits will be zero percent," he asserted.<\/p>\n
Other requirements to obtain annual logging permits include
\nthe payment of all mandatory forest contributions, such as
\nreforestation fees and forest royalties.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said the new regulation would give concessionaires
\ngreater authority to cut back on the supervisory role of forestry
\noffices at the local level.<\/p>\n
He cited that in timber-cruising, which involves the counting
\nof trees before their felling, and in conducting the Indonesian
\nplanting and selective cutting method, as regulated by the
\ngovernment to ensure forest sustainability, government approval
\nwould be unnecessary.<\/p>\n
The validity of such procedures, Djamaludin said, would be
\ndetermined by a company's production director or -- in the case
\nof a company which is partly state-owned -- by a company's
\ndirector representing the government's interest.<\/p>\n
Previously, the procedures had to gain the approval of local
\nforestry offices before annual logging permits could be issued.<\/p>\n
"Such a process often took time. In fact, local forestry
\noffices often delayed it deliberately, so in the end, the company
\nwould bargain by giving a certain sum of money to gain the
\napproval," Djamaludin said.<\/p>\n
To prevent such cases, he said, ground-checks should be done
\nafter a proposal is submitted. If the contents do not match, the
\ncompany's director can be sued. (pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-simplifies-procedure-for-logging-permits-1447893297",
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